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Tamara was wearing canvas shoes and the needle had gone through the side and into her foot.

The puncture wound site (with plaster debris) where the needle went through Tamara's shoe and into her foot.

Caroline said: “My blood ran cold. I almost couldn’t breathe - I went into panic mode. I assumed the worst.

“I couldn’t stop swearing – even in front of her – which I never normally do.”

Caroline took her daughter to Bristol Children’s Hospital where, after consulting with a virologist, a doctor gave Tamara a shot for Hepatitis B and took a blood sample.

Mum Caroline says she is having trouble sleeping following the incident

Caroline said the blood will not be tested but kept on record as a ‘reference sample’ which will be used to check against a later sample to be taken if Tamara develops any symptoms in the next three months.

Now all Caroline can do is wait and watch for any symptoms.

She said: “She will probably get ill in that time – she get colds all the time – and I’m going to panic.

“From what I’ve been reading, the risks are HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. Hep B is the only one they can vaccinate against – even though it’s not meant to be given to children, they made an exception in this case.”

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Bristol City Council owns that section of the cycle path and the land under Devon Road bridge.

Caroline says she is still coming to terms with what has happened but is trying to stay level-headed.

“I’m still a bit in shock. I didn’t sleep much last night. I had a mini panic attack, thinking the wost in the wee-small hours.

"But I am trying to be rational, I know it is a very low chance anything will happen to Tamara."

A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: “As a minimum, the parks litter team visit and litter pick along the area of the cycle path that belongs to Bristol City Council twice a week, based on current levels of general litter and sex and drugs litter.

“We can find no record of a needle on the cycle path being reported to us, but we have sent officers out to clear the area this morning. We respond as a matter of priority on receiving any reports of this nature. Along with our waste partners we regularly respond to incidents like this across the city.

“In the past, where there has been evidence of drug use, we have adjusted the frequency of visits to parks and green spaces across the city until the situation improves. We will look into whether it is now necessary to increase our visits to this area in light of this incident.

“Given the dangerous nature of this type of litter we would advise the public not to touch the waste but report the issue to us."

Anyone who sees a discarded needle should report it to the council on 0117 922 2500.